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Changing Pattern of Orthopaedic Trauma Admissions During COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience at a Tertiary Trauma Centre in
M S Dhillon1, Deepak Kumar1, Uttam Chand Saini1
1Department of Orthopedics, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced trauma cases and altered injury patterns. Healthcare providers must adapt responses and patient management to prevent disease spread during public health crises.
Area of Science:
- Trauma Surgery
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread lifestyle disruptions starting in 2020.
- This impacted hospital admissions and medical care patterns.
- The study investigates changes in trauma patterns and management during the pandemic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate changes in trauma caseload and injury patterns.
- To assess modifications in trauma management protocols.
- To compare pre-pandemic data with data from the lockdown and conditional relaxation periods.
Main Methods:
- Data from a tertiary care hospital was collected for two periods during the COVID-19 lockdown (March-May 2020).
- Data was compared with similar periods from the previous year (2019).
- Analysis included patient demographics, fracture types, injury mechanisms, and treatment protocols.
Main Results:
- A significant reduction in overall trauma caseload was observed.
- Fewer open injuries and road accidents occurred, though fall-related injuries persisted.
- The strategy to minimize operative interventions was challenging due to the complexity of trauma cases.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic led to notable decreases in trauma cases and shifts in injury types.
- Healthcare provider responses and patient management strategies require significant adaptation to mitigate disease transmission.
Introduction:
COVID-19 has emerged as a medical threat to mankind, with a serious disruption of lifestyle in 2020. This has not only changed the way we live and work but has also changed the pattern of hospital admissions and medical care. To see if there was significant change in the pattern and management of trauma in our region, we evaluated data from our centre for the lockdown period and compared it with data from the previous year, and also with some available international data.
Methods:
We collated data from our Tertiary care hospital for two periods, i.e. from 25th March 2020 to 3rd May 2020 signifying strict lockdown and then from 4th May to 31st May during which some conditional relaxations were given. This was compared to data from similar periods in 2019. We looked at patient demographics, fracture types, injury mechanisms, and even changes in treatment protocols.
Results:
Significant reductions in caseloads were noted; open injuries were less, road accidents were infrequent, but cases due to falls, especially children and the elderly were still seen, although slightly reduced. The plan to minimize operative interventions could not be fully implemented due to complex nature of trauma seen by us. Only one case of bilateral amputation turned out to be positive, with no infectious consequences to the treating staff.
Conclusions:
COVID-19 pandemic led to significant reductions in trauma caseload and change in injury patterns. Doctor responses and patient management needs significant alteration to prevent spread of disease.
